Samsung appeals against Galaxy Tab sales ban in Australia

Samsung's lawyers have begun an appeal against the ban on sales of the company's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, claiming that the judge who granted it misunderstood the law.

By
Ben Camm-Jones
| 25 Nov 11

Samsung's lawyers have begun an appeal against the ban on sales of the company's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, claiming that the judge who granted it misunderstood the law.

Business Week reports that Samsung's argument against the ban imposed on sales of the tablet computer, issued at Apple's request, is that Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett failed to consider the "dire consequences" of preventing Samsung market and sell the device.

Bennett failed to evaluate Apple’s chances of winning its patent infringement claim against Samsung as she is required to under Australian law, Samsung's lawyer Neil Young argued. Apple had accused Samsung of "slavishly copying" the design of the iPad 2.

Missing out on the Christmas holiday shopping season would effectively mean that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was "dead" in the Australian market, Young said.

However, Apple's lawyer, Stephen Burley, told the three-judge panel of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney that Bennett had not made any mistakes in her judgement and that the ban should stand.

Earlier this month Justice Bennett said that in March 2012 the Australian Federal Court in Sydney will consider Samsung's claims that the iPhone 4S infringes three of its patents and make a decision on Samsung's demands that sales of the iPhone 4S should be banned in the country.

Samsung and Apple are currently locked in legal battles in the UK, the US, Japan and South Korea.